Snowleg

Nicholas Shakespeare was born in 1957. The son of a diplomat, much of his youth was spent in the Far East and South America. His novels have been translated into twenty languages. They include The Vision of Elena Silves, winner of the Somerset Maugham Award, Snowleg and The Dancer Upstairs, which was chosen by the American Libraries Association in 1997 as the year's best novel, and in 2001 was made into a film of the same name by John Malkovich. His most recent novel is Secrets of the Sea. He is married with two small boys and currently lives in Oxford.

"This novel is one of the finest attempts in English to convey something of two very strange places which no longer appear on the map of Europe... Shakespeare has told a very skilful story" Evening Standard "Offers more than high romance: it is a portrait, and a good one, of the East Germany of the Stasi, with its bleakly beautiful landscapes, its casual betrayals, and its subtle capacity to dehumanise" Daily Telegraph "His finest book yet. Beautifully written, rich in character, it displays all the courage for which its hero so desperately wants to be recognised" Economist "A heart-warming tale of rich, enabling coincidence and conquering love; love without frontiers" Guardian "Elegant metaphors, striking insights, eidetic settings and sensitive renditions of character - Shakespeare's writing is of a high order. Impressive" Time Out